On Saturday, July 16th, David Sancious, an original member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, returned to the Jersey Shore for the first time in many years to perform a benefit concert for SPARKS International at the intimate new Two River Theatre in downtown Red Bank, New Jersey. For one night, Sancious played songs from throughout his lengthy career, spoke about his music, and met with fans following the show.
Sancious' return to the Shore benefited SPARKS International. SPARKS, a student-run international humanitarian group based out of Princeton University, stands for Students Providing Aid Relief and Kind Services, and the group's largest project is establishing a permanent facility to house the SPARKS Academy, an independent school meant to educate some of Afghanistan's brightest children. In a country devastated by a generation of war, the SPARKS Academy provides an enriching, educational environment that enables young Afghan boys and girls to receive a level of education that would otherwise be unobtainable in their country. Currently, the school, praised by Afghan president Hamid Karzai, is housed in a temporary facility while SPARKS raises additional funds to construct a permanent institution on land donated by the city of Kabul. All profits from this special show went toward funding the SPARKS Academy in Kabul.